The good people of Hilperton (Wiltshire Times, November 10) seem to be missing the point.

They certainly seem to have missed an important part of the speech by Loyola de Palacio, vice-president of the European Commission, Transport and Energy, on October 24.

She said, "shifting transport to the railways is essential both in order to reduce road traffic congestion and combat atmospheric pollution".

The economic case for the Hilperton by-pass rests largely on the needs of the Canal Road industrial estate. But we don't need an extra road at all.

There's already a perfectly good road from the industrial estate to Trowbridge railway station less than half a mile away. Perhaps we should be using it more.

David Entwistle,

Wingfield Road,

Trowbridge.

l I CONSIDER the majority of Trowbridge residents are sympathetic to the traffic problems being faced by the Hilperton residents, but do not consider the Hilperton Gap bypass to be the answer to their problem. Even with the £640,000 provided by the Paxcroft Mead developers Wiltshire County Council cannot afford to fund the bypass without additional money from the developers, for permission to build one side or the other of the bypass.

I do not believe this is in the interests of either group of residents.

How long before the other side of the Gap is built on destroying the identity of Hilperton and losing the facilities offered by the buffer zone to both communities?

I suggest both groups oppose building in the Gap, which could delay or cancel the bypass and canvass for the much more practical bypass north of Hilperton from the Kings Arms roundabout to a new roundabout in the vicinity of Paxcroft Farm on the A361.

Let's stand together and defeat the developers for the sake of future generations and the environment.

CLIVE BURKE,

Albert Road,

Trowbridge.